Eye-Openers: Farm classes, coffee cycle and political eating habits

Love Apple Farms offers a wide variety of classes to the public. Photo: The Chronicle

It is February 16, and these are some stories to get you in the loop for all the conversations you’ll have today at the Ferry Plaza Thursday Market:

From the local scene:

With the helps of places like Love Apple Farms (Manresa’s farm) and the Institute of Urban Homesteading in Oakland, the urban homesteading movement is thriving in the Bay Area. [San Francisco Chronicle]

Q&A with Dominique Crenn: “I’ve always loved presentation, but not in a contrived or over-the-top way. Nature is beautiful — it’s imperfect and organic. So it’s not about making a pretty plate. It’s about telling a story with the ingredients…” [Bold Italic]

From the national scene:

Jose Andres says Republicans are not so good with tapas: “We still have very traditional people — I mean Republicans — who will say, ‘I want my plate. I don’t want to share.'” [DCist]

The IACP announced 2012 Food Writing finalists, including some locals, like Mitchell Rosenthal’s Cooking My Way Back Home. [Eater National]

Who eats at Applebee’s — and why? “Applebee’s doesn’t sell itself as a cultural experience the way more self-conscious restaurants do, but I suspect that’s just downmarket advertising at work … Our customers aren’t here for the food—not in any sophisticated culinary sense. They’re here to take a night off from the daily grind.” [Slate]